World Central Kitchen calls for independent probe into Israeli airstrike

This was not a ‘bad luck situation where, ‘oops,’ we dropped the bomb in the wrong place,’ the founder of WCK Jose Andres says 

Humanitarian food charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) has urged an independent investigation into the Israeli airstrike that claimed the lives of seven of its aid workers, including three British nationals, in Gaza on Monday.

WCK issued a statement on Thursday morning, urging the governments of Australia, Canada, the U.S., the U.K., and Poland – the home countries of six of the workers – to participate in a third-party investigation into the drone attack on the charity’s convoy.

WCK has requested the Israeli government to preserve all relevant records, including documents and communications, pertaining to the strikes.

The statement asserted that “an independent investigation is the only way to ascertain the truth, ensure transparency and accountability, and prevent future attacks on humanitarian aid workers.”

The investigation is crucial to determine “whether (the drone strikes) were carried out intentionally or otherwise violated international law,” the statement emphasized.

The charity reported that seven of its workers, along with a Palestinian driver, were killed in a sustained drone attack on their marked convoy after unloading 100 tonnes of food aid from a barge on April 1.

Biden ‘outraged’ and ‘heartbroken’ by Israeli airstrike 

The incident has sparked global condemnation. U.S. President Joe Biden released a statement Tuesday that said he is “outraged” and “heartbroken” by the Israeli airstrike that killed seven WCK aid workers and highlighted that Israel “has not done enough to protect aid workers.”

“Far too many civilians have been killed, too many aid workers have died in this conflict, too many journalists have died in this conflict,” said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.

Alongside seven WCK aid workers, Israel is responsible for the killing of 196 aid workers, more than 100 journalists, and over 33,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7. 

It was a ‘military attack’, not a ‘mistake’

Israeli President Isaac Herzog apologized for the deaths, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the attack as unintended and “tragic,” pledging an inquiry.

The charity pointed out that although Israel acknowledged the killings, it termed them “a tragic event in which our forces unintentionally harmed non-combatants.”

The celebrity chef Jose Andres, who founded WCK in 2010, accused Israel of “systematically” targeting the seven WCK aid workers.

“This was not a “bad luck situation where, ‘oops,’ we dropped the bomb in the wrong place,” Andres said. 

The WCK confirmed that seven of its humanitarian aid workers were killed in Monday’s “unforgivable” Israeli strikes, and the assault was “not an unfortunate mistake.”

“This was a military attack that involved multiple strikes and targeted three WCK vehicles. All three vehicles were carrying civilians; they were marked as WCK vehicles; and their movements were in full compliance with Israeli authorities, who were aware of their itinerary, route, and humanitarian mission,” it added.

UK demands independent investigation

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has demanded a thorough and transparent independent investigation into the killings in Gaza, expressing his dismay to Netanyahu.

In a separate development, pressure mounts on the U.S. and U.K. governments to halt arms sales to Israel, with over 600 lawyers, including former Supreme Court justices, urging the British government to cease defense exports to Israel.

Allegations by the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) suggest complicity by Britain in the strike, claiming that U.K.-made engines powered the weapons used in the attack.

The remains of six foreign WCK workers have been repatriated to Egypt, while their 25-year-old Palestinian colleague was buried in Rafah, southern Gaza, on Tuesday.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas which killed less than 1,200 people. Nearly 33,000 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza and over 75,000 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

A total of 196 aid workers, including more than 175 U.N. staff members, have been killed since the start of the Israeli onslaught in Gaza on Oct. 7, according to the U.N.

Source: Newsroom

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